Once upon a time, long long ago, there was a thing called the Holocaust. It was a real downer, to say the least. But fear not, dear reader, for there are those out there who are trying to keep the memory alive – and not just the direct descendants of those involved! These folks are finding new ways to tell the tale, mixing things up and adding a little spice to the narrative.

Take Jim Shepard’s “The Book of Aron,” for example. It’s got that classic Holocaust trauma, but with a twist! Ethical quandaries abound as folks struggle to survive. How fun! And then you’ve got Nicole Krauss’s “The History of Love,” which is just a masterclass in weaving past and present together. Shalom Auslander’s “Hope: A Tragedy,” on the other hand, takes a more irreverent approach. Who knew Holocaust humor could be a thing?

All these writers have one thing in common – they’re tired of the same old good-versus-evil story. That’s so last year. Instead, they want to show the full spectrum of human possibility. Take that, simplistic narratives! Playwright Brian Silberman is especially on board with this, as evidenced by his vaudevillian take on a concentration camp, “Manifest.” It’s all about that human complexity, baby.

Of course, some folks out there just don’t get it. They want to ban books like “Maus,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel by Art Spiegelman. But these ignoramuses fail to realize that literature plays a huge role in shaping society’s memory of historical events. Witness testimony is great and all, but it’s those secondhand accounts that really stick with us.

The sad truth is that the Holocaust has become a sort of symbol soup. Heaps of shoes, skeletal bodies…you know the ones. But let’s not forget that there were real, live human beings under all that symbolism. That’s where the power of storytelling comes in. By sharing individual stories, we can breathe life back into the historical record.

So if you’re feeling the weight of the world on your shoulders, dear reader, just remember that there are people out there doing the heavy lifting. Folks like Daphne Kalotay, author of “The Archivists,” winner of the 2021 Grace Paley Prize for Short Fiction. She’s out there teaching at Princeton University, making sure the next generation of storytellers knows their stuff. All hail the power of storytelling!

Serious News: nytimes